OK, so your team has the No. 1 pick. Be careful what you wish for, though—take a look at the history of top picks in the lottery era and it’s difficult not to notice just how many have had their careers dented, dinged or outright destroyed by injuries.

We broke down and ranked all 29 top picks since Patrick Ewing became the first lottery pick in 1985, and in that span, a dozen top picks have seen their careers shortened or limited by injuries, to different extents. Some players, like Yao Ming, Brad Daugherty and Larry Johnson, had to retire early, while others were limited after suffering a major injury—Elton Brand, Kenyon Martin, Danny Manning and Pervis Ellison among them.

Oh, and recent top picks Derrick Rose and Greg Oden are still fighting their way back from serious injury.

Beyond those players, though, the top slot has yielded its share of duds to go with its stars. Here they are:

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1

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Tim Duncan, Spurs, 1997

It is a tight one at the top, but the 14 All-Star games and four NBA championships to Duncan’s credit give him a claim to the best No. 1 pick of the lottery era. The fact that the team that drafted Duncan was the only one to benefit from his greatness makes him one of the best picks a team has made in the history of the draft.

2

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Shaquille O’Neal, Magic, 1992

Twelve All-Star selections, four championships, a career mark of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds, plus three Finals MVP awards. Tough to argue with O’Neal’s resume, and it is nit-picking that puts him at No. 2 rather than No. 1—his free-throw shooting was lacking, and he would often begin seasons out of condition.

3

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LeBron James, Cavaliers, 2003

It could be that, eventually, James leapfrogs to the top of this list. He is certainly on a path toward that, with career averages of 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists, plus four MVP awards. He does have two championships, and will put some heat on the two guys in front of him if he makes it three this spring.

4

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David Robinson, Spurs, 1987

Robinson was a great rebounder, shot-blocker and scorer, with career averages of 21.1 points and 10.6 rebounds. Hall of Famers Reggie Miller and Scottie Pippen were in this group, but Robinson was arguably the right pick. Though he needed the arrival of Tim Duncan to get there, he helped the Spurs to two championships.

5

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Patrick Ewing, Knicks, 1985

The first lottery pick remains one of the five best. Ewing averaged 20 points or more for each of the first 13 seasons of his career, and wound up posting a career mark of 21.0 points and 9.8 rebounds.

6

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Dwight Howard, Magic, 2004

Hard to believe some actually wondered whether the Magic should go with Howard or Emeka Okafor before this draft. Howard has been an All-Star in eight of his 10 seasons, and though he has been criticized for his inability to add refined post moves to his game, he is still one of the league’s most effective big men, averaging 18.3 points and 12.9 rebounds in his career.

7

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Allen Iverson, Sixers, 1996

Iverson was one of the most dynamic scorers in the history of the game, as well as a popular—if polarizing—player. He averaged 26.7 points, which remains seventh in league history. But the Sixers did miss out on some pretty good options (Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash) to get Iverson.

8

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Chris Webber, Magic, 1993

It’s hard to size up Webber in terms of the draft, because he was traded to Golden State on draft night for Penny Hardaway and three future first-rounders, then was traded by the Warriors a year later. Once Webber settled into his NBA career, particularly in Sacramento, he was outstanding, but saw the back end of his career limited by a knee injury he suffered in 2003.

9

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Blake Griffin, Clippers, 2009

Griffin had an outstanding fourth season, raising his career averages to 21.4 points and 10.1 rebounds. He has been an All-Star four times, and will only keep getting better. In a draft that produced Stephen Curry and James Harden, Griffin still stands as the right pick, though his place in the league will be determined by his ability to lead the Clippers to the Finals.

10

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Anthony Davis, Pelicans, 2012

Davis is only scratching the surface of his talent, and at just 21 years old, is coming off a year in which he averaged 20.8 points and 10.0 rebounds while leading the league in blocked shots (2.8 per game). His draft class is looking better as it progresses—including Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond—but Davis is the headliner.

11

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Yao Ming, Rockets, 2002

The impact Yao had on the Rockets and the league probably should be included when considering his career. But on the floor, foot injuries held him to only 486 games in nine years—though he averaged 19.0 points and 9.2 rebounds in those games.

12

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Brad Daugherty, Cavaliers, 1986

A recurring back injury that led to surgery ended what could have been a stellar career for Daugherty when he was just 28 years old. He averaged 19.0 points and 9.8 rebounds, and made the All-Star team five times, but his career lasted only eight years.

13

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Elton Brand, Bulls, 1999

Brand was on his way to a stellar career, averaging better than 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first nine seasons, but an Achilles injury struck when he was 28, and has limited him since. His draft class was decent (Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, Lamar Odom, Richard Hamilton), but Brand was probably the right pick at No. 1.

14

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Larry Johnson, Hornets, 1991

Chronic back problems stunted what might have been a Hall of Fame career for Johnson, who averaged 19.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in five seasons with Charlotte before moving on to New York and struggling with the injuries. The best player in the draft was probably Dikembe Mutombo, but that was only because Johnson was not healthy.

15

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Kyrie Irving, Cavaliers, 2011

Irving has posted nice numbers (20.7 points, 5.8 assists) and has been an All-Star twice in his three seasons—most would tab him as the best player in his draft class. But he has been regressing on the floor, and has probably reached a crossroads in his career. He should be much higher up on this list, but he needs to assert himself as a leader and a winner.

16

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Glenn Robinson, Bucks, 1994

This draft had stars—Jason Kidd and Grant Hill followed Robinson—but the Bucks opted for the Big Dog, a guy who never saw a shot he did not like. Robinson averaged 20.7 points and earned two All-Star spots, closing his career by helping San Antonio to the 2005 championship.

17

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Derrick Rose, Bulls, 2008

What to do about a 25-year-old former MVP who has played just 49 games in the last three years? Rose will wind up much higher on this list if he can return at 100 percent from the series of injuries that have wiped out a chunk of the prime of his career. But he needs to be on the floor for that.

18

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John Wall, Wizards, 2010

Wall is 23 and made the All-Star team for the first time this season, as well as leading the Wizards to the first playoff berth of his career. Though Paul George has proven to be the best player in this draft class, Wall—who still needs to hone his shooting—is right behind him.

19

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Danny Manning, Clippers, 1988

Because of knee problems, we only got a brief glimpse of how good Manning might have been, earning spots on two All-Star teams. As it was, the injuries undermined his career, though he managed to average 14.0 points over 15 years.

20

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Derrick Coleman, Nets, 1990

The Nets botched this one by passing on Gary Payton for Coleman, who still managed a decent career that included averages of 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds. He did, however, have a reputation as a pretty corrosive presence in the locker room, often injured and/or out of shape.

21

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Andrew Bogut, Bucks, 2005

The Bucks went with the 7-footer ahead of the two star point guards in the draft—Deron Williams and Chris Paul—and that was the safe choice. Bogut has been a solid center, with averages of 11.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, but he has also had an inability to stay healthy.

22

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Kenyon Martin, Nets, 2000

You can’t be too hard on the Nets for this pick, because it was a roundly awful draft (Stromile Swift, Darius Miles and Marcus Fizer went immediately after Martin, who did have an All-Star appearance). But Martin’s career averages of 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds are nothing special.

23

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Andrea Bargnani, Raptors, 2006

He’s a 7-footer with little interest in playing the post, rebounding or defending the paint. Thus, everywhere Bargnani has gone, he has left a trail of fired coaches and executives in his wake—it’s little wonder that, after dealing the oft-disgruntled Bargnani in the offseason, the Raptors made a return to the postseason for the first time in seven years.

24

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Joe Smith, Warriors, 1995

Smith was a decent big man who lasted 16 NBA seasons, averaging 10.9 points and 6.4 rebounds. That’s hardly worthy of a top pick, except that it was an unremarkable draft—with the exception of the arrival of a pioneer out of high school, Kevin Garnett.

25

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Pervis Ellison, Kings, 1989

Bum knees were the problem for Ellison, and there was a year (1991-’92) in which he was healthy and averaged 20.0 points and 11.2 rebounds. But he could not stay on the floor and wound up trudging through just 474 games in 11 seasons.

26

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Greg Oden, Blazers, 2007

Oden is still trying to play, and is on the Heat’s roster—though inactive. When he has been healthy, Oden has shown that he could be a very good NBA center, and that the scouts who drooled over him for years were not entirely wrong. But his banged-up knees have limited him to 105 games, and the stardom of No. 2 pick Kevin Durant adds some sting.

27

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Kwame Brown, Wizards, 2001

He will be remembered as Michael Jordan’s (first) folly, chosen out of high school—Pau Gasol and Tyson Chandler were the best available—before going on to average a measly 6.6 points and 5.5 rebounds.

28

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Anthony Bennett, Cavaliers, 2013

The jury is still out on Bennett, of course. But there is a stack of evidence against him after a brutal rookie year in which he shot 35.6 percent from the field and often just did not look like an NBA player.

29

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Michael Olowokandi, Clippers, 1998

In the Clippers’ defense, there were some odd picks at the top of this draft, including Raef LaFrentz at No. 3 and Robert Traylor at No. 6. But Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki were out there, and Olowokandi averaged 8.3 points on 43.5 percent shooting.